My friends, take time to read this....

JUDGE NOT

I was shocked, confused, bewildered

As I entered Heaven's door,

Not by the beauty of it all,

Nor the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven

Who made me sputter and gasp--

The thieves, the liars, the sinners,

The alcoholics and the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade

Who swiped my lunch money twice.

Next to him was my old neighbor

Who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought

Was rotting away in hell,

Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,

Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal?

I would love to hear Your take.

How'd all these sinners get up here?

God must've made a mistake.

'And why's everyone so quiet,

So somber - give me a clue.'

'Hush, child,' He said, 'they're all in shock.

No one thought they'd be seeing you.'


JUDGE NOT

Asthma Sunday

Asthma Impacts Sunday

Last fall when the cold settled in, I experienced my first Asthma attack.

My Doc gave me a "breathing treatment" and got me some emergency inhalers.

All was right with the world.

This last Thursday, a cold snap arrived and I ended up in the Emergency Room.

I could not breathe.  The medical care I received was fantastic.

In a couple hours, Michele was driving me home and my lungs were almost working.

I was curious how church was going to go -- since I had very little air to work with.

Since laying down in bed results in my lungs shutting down, I started sleeping in my recliner.

Saturday night at zero dark thirty, the good LORD showed up and reminded me of HIS promise:
“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”
So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ can work through me.
That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses,
and in the insults, hardships, persecutions,
and troubles that I suffer for Christ.
For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT

So I went to church this morning, knowing full well that I couldn't sing at all and talking was going to be limited.

I confess that my confidence was shaken -- I had forgotten that I was just carrying water for the good LORD.

The Worship Team was wonderful and survived just fine without me.

Finally it was time for the "sermon" -- my responsibility.

You need to understand that I take the "sermon" terribly seriously.
The "sermon'" is God speaking to HIS people
-- God's message -- not mine.

As I got up to speak, I couldn't quit coughing and my Diabetes was out of whack from the Asthma medicine.

A friend brought me a stool to sit on and another moved the microphone to where I needed it.

I opened my Bible to 2 Timothy chapter 2 and for the next 30 minutes
-- I was weak and God was strong.

God was present.  Simple as that.  God moved me out of the way and HE took front and center.

At the end of the service, our Senior Elder spoke up and suggested that a retired pastor in our church, lay hands on me and pray for God's healing touch on my body.  Saints began moving forward and soon I felt God's people surround me -- lay their hands on me as my friend, Pastor Wagie prayed for God's will to be done.

It was one of the most moving and powerful experiences of my ministry.

I experienced God's love as it flowed freely from His people.

And.... I am humbled....

Electric Fences

Electric Fences

I grew up out in the sticks where electric fences were a way of life.  Getting shocked was not an “if” but a “when”…. and in my case, “how often”.

Every year my dad purchased 2 day old calves.  When both were fattened up ~ one went into our freezer for the winter’s meat and the other went to the sale-barn auction to pay for the next 2 calves. 

I remember that dad would acclimate the calves to their new home, the watering trough, the feed bin…. and the electric fence.

He would nudge each of them over against the fence and allow them to experience the electricity bite that went along with getting too close to the forbidden boundary. 

It only took once and they had no desire to check out the greener pastures on the other side of the fence. 

I have never “seen” the power of the electric fence but I have experienced it.  When I was about 12 years old, I was chasing a rabbit and fell into the electric fence ~ allowing the fence the opportunity to zap me 3 or 4 times before I regained my footing and removed myself from the “enlightening” experience.  

So thanks to the experience of an electric fence, I was able to believe and respect something I could not see or fully understand.  

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”  Hebrews 11:1 NLT

Your faith will become “real” and personal as you experience it. 

“You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.”                         1 Peter 1:8-9 NLT

This week I counseled a wonderful Christian woman that is addressing some very real life issues that has pushed her to the deep end of the pool and as I pointed her back to our living and powerful Savior ~ her face lit up ~ and as her faith increased ~ her burden’s became “manageable”. 

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30 NLT

The power of the risen Savior will be experienced as you claim His eternal promises in His written Word. 

You can trust His promises ~ it is His nature to keep them. 

The power of the risen Savior will be seen in changed lives. 

Do you want a red berry?

Do you want a red berry?

My parents have always had a soft spot for Black Lab dogs.

Black Labs have proven to be gentle and kind,

however a little slow to recognize danger.

My Parent’s property has an interesting poisonous berry called “Nightshade”.  Ever since I was a little kid, they warned me to keep my grubby mitts off the Nightshade.

I am trying to resist the temptation to talk about Eve in the Garden of Eden, looking at the forbidden tree and seeing that its fruit was tasty ~ but I will stay off that rabbit trail and get back on point. 

Years ago, my folks had a  Black Lab named “Ginger” that seemed to be addicted to “Nightshade”. 

Ginger would find herself a tasty Nightshade plant and eat a couple of the poisonous red berries.  It didn’t take long for her eyes to get a flat sickly look.   Her hair would start falling out and she would spend a lot of time laying by the creek in the shade.

You would think the side effects of Nightshade would offset whatever pleasure she got from eating them but ~ nope ~ the next summer she would be right back snacking on the poisonous berries. 

My mom found the whole thing educational and whenever one of us started to do something stupid, she would ask, “Do you want a red berry?”  (referring of course to the Nightshade)

The moral of this story is simple, when faced with a decision, ask yourself, “What are the consequences?” 

Perhaps ask it from a positive and a negative perspective. 

If I DO this, what are the consequences?

OR

If I DON’T do this, what will be the consequences? 

If the endgame is wrong or unhealthy, ask yourself,

“Do I want a red berry?” 

Before you roll your eyes and write this off as over simplistic, ask:

“What am I addicted to?” 

“What habit controls me?” 

“What is there in my life that I can’t stop?”

“Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.

Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.”

Romans 6:16-18 NLT

Driving From The Rearview Mirror

Driving From The Rearview Mirror

There is a reason that your windshield is larger than your rearview mirror.  

The idea is, you need to spend more time looking where you are going than where you came from. 

Don't get me wrong, there is value in learning from your past mistakes.  In fact, it is foolhardy to keep making the same mistakes over and over.  

My wifey's car has a cool back up camera that is activated when you put the car in reverse -- but for obvious reasons, it disconnects when you put it in drive and start moving forward. OK, that little tidbit doesn't really have anything to do with this blogs topic but it is really cool and I'm jealous my truck doesn't have one.  

To quote Jesus:  "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62

Too many of us try to steer our lives by looking back. We look back and blame our crookedness on our bad home life, environment, circumstances, abuse, parents, teachers, church, or society, rather than forgetting those things and going on. Go forward. Jesus said don’t look back.

Paul, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13,14).

So what has the good LORD put in front of you -- that HE wants you to focus on?  

Armstrong Steering

Armstrong Steering

My grandmother passed away when I was 14 years old.  She left me a 1959 Ford 2 door sedan.  It was brown with a white stripe down the sides.  It had large fins that ran down the sides of the trunk and huge round tail lights.  It was my pride and joy. 

The steering wheel was about the size of a truck tire.  

This should’ve been a clue that something was amiss. 

A short time later, I learned to parallel park my ride using “Armstrong Steering” (also known as manual steering). 

I found parallel parking my beast had an aerobic affect.   

Steering was best completed with 1 foot firmly planted on the floorboard for leverage and both hands gripping the same side of the steering wheel (thus the need for the monstrosity of a wheel). 

Then my dad offered a word of wisdom, “The steering wheel  turns easier if the car is moving.” 

Huh…. What do you know….

That was one of those “Ah-Ha” moments. 

One of the questions people ask me the most is, “What does God want me to do?” 

And my answer is grounded on the wisdom my dad shared with me.  “God guides your life easier if you are already moving.” 

If you use God’s Word as a map for your decisions ~ then you are already moving in the right direction.  All the good Lord has to do is nudge you here and there for course corrections. 

If you are not moving at all, then the good Lord has to put one foot on the floor for leverage, grab you firmly with both hands and firmly torque until the desired correction has been made.

“Your Word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path” Psalm 119:105 NLT